My Alzheimer's Journey
Part 50 - Infusion #5
Terrible night with little sleep. I think I finally fell asleep about four o’clock this morning.
The feline alarm clocks woke me at seven o’clock. I turn on the television to check the weather. It snowed (less than a half of an inch) and the temperature is 27 degrees (Fahrenheit for those of you outside the United States!) The news broadcast is going crazy, warning commuters about black ice. Do they really need eight reporters riding around on potentially icy roads doing live reports?
I check the Duke Health website and the clinics will be open normal hours.
After dragging myself out of bed, drinking a bottle of water, and getting ready, I order an Uber.
The Uber arrived on time at eight fifteen. The temperature is now 28 degrees. The driver is listening to a podcast about an old murder case. I had hoped for silence.
There were no road issues on our drive.
Arriving at the Duke Cancer Center about eight forty, I went to the food court and purchased a chicken biscuit. Hustling up to the second floor, I go to Clinic 2A and check in.
Within a couple of minutes of waiting, a nurse came to get me. She explained that the process had changed slightly with a goal of shortening the patient wait time in the infusion center. The change is that my vitals were taken, and the IV port was placed on one side of the waiting room, rather than doing that in the infusion center. The time reduction with this new process is the wait time for the pharmacy to prepare the Lecanemab. Dosage is based on patient weight, so the sooner the pharmacy receives me weight, the faster the medication gets to the infusion center.
Tip of my hat to the nurses in the waiting room. Professional, compassionate, and funny. Thanks for the compliments on my hair.
Once I was in the infusion center, with a warm blanket over me, I enjoyed my biscuit while waiting for the pharmacy to bring my Lecanemab. The wait was less than thirty minutes (half of the previous wait time).
Before the infusion is started, I am given Tylenol and Benadryl. This procedure started a few infusions back to help prevent side effects. An added benefit of the Benadryl is that it makes me sleepy.
I slept through most of the one-hour infusion. I hope I did not snore.
After the infusion is complete, I only had to wait thirty minutes before departing. Vitals were checked, and I was told to have a good day by the awesome nurses.
Another Uber ride took me home, arriving before twelve noon.
Within minutes of arrival, I am in bed with the heated blanket on top of me (AKA - the Linus blanket gifted by Moo). Big Bit and Bella joined me for a very long nap.
No side effects yet.